Title: Behavior of dioxins and the relevance to soil characteristics in a river basin of Lake Biwa, Japan

Auteur(s): Shimizu Y ; Sato K ; Kim S ; Suzuki T ; Takamatu M ; Nakamura M ; Yabushita H ; Yamamoto T ; Murata H ;  ; 

Year: 2003

Journal: Organohalogen Compounds

Subject(s): dioxin ; dioxins ;  ; 

Summary: The dioxins, a class of chlorinated organic compounds, are toxic chemicals generated unintentionally. The sources of dioxins into the environment are not only the incineration of municipal solid wastes but also the application of certain agricultural chemicals. The recent investigation clearly indicated that some Chlorinated Organic Pesticides (COP) sprinkled in the past on agricultural fields contained dioxins as their byproducts. It is important for our safe to reduce their release into the aquatic systems and the risk of our being exposed by them. To evaluate the concentrations and the behavior and/or movement of dioxins in the environment is, therefore, definitely necessary. The dioxins concentrations and behavior is, however, poorly documented because the intricacy of dioxins and environmental samples. Based on these backgrounds and considerations, the specific objectives of this research are set as follows: 1) To investigate the concentrations of dioxins in various land uses. The relationship between the relevant characteristics of surface soils (i.e., particle size and organic carbon content) and the dioxins concentrations are further analyzed. 2) To qualitatively estimate the behavior of dioxins in a watershed through the dioxins concentrations in surface soils and river sediments.